It’s time for this week’s What To Make With What’s On Sale post!  King Soopers’ Mega Event is going on for the second week in a row, and Hunt’s canned tomatoes and paste are $0.49 each, or as cheap as $0.09 each with coupons!

Canned tomatoes are often a preferable substitute for out-of-season fresh tomatoes that are picked before they’re fully ripe.  Canned tomato products typically last up to 18 months at room temperature.  Here are some ideas for how to use canned tomatoes!

Easy Pizza Sauce: Image from Allrecipes

The types of tomatoes grown for canning are chosen for their high ratio of flesh to juice, which means they’re perfect for sauces.  This Easy Pizza Sauce recipe uses a can of tomato paste and a can of tomato sauce.  The petite diced canned tomatoes are a good tomato sauce substitute if you like a chunkier pizza sauce!

Chili is another great way to use canned tomatoes and/or tomato paste.  Many people have their own particular way of making chili, but if you need a foolproof recipe try this one from Tammy’s Recipes.  She even shares several different ideas for using chili — think chili dogs and chili cheese burritos!

Here’s another yummy-looking soup recipe: Ina Garten’s Roasted Tomato Basil Soup.  The recipe calls for both canned and fresh tomatoes (which are also a great price at Sunflower Market this week!)

This Fresh Pasta with Sausage and Mushrooms recipe looks delicious, and it seems easily adaptable for your own family’s taste preferences.  (Chicken sausage, one of the ingredients, is $1.99/lb at Sunflower Market this week as well!)

Spanish Rice Bake: Image from Allrecipes

Canned tomatoes are nice to use in casseroles too; this tasty Spanish Rice Bake is an easy one-dish meal to throw together.

Here’s one last recipe — Blender Salsa — that calls for canned tomatoes.  This recipe is one of my standbys!  I usually have all the ingredients on hand, and throwing them all into the blender is so easy.  Homemade salsa is far better than store-bought, in my opinion!

How do you like to use canned tomatoes?

Check the (NEW!) What To Make With What’s On Sale archives for more meal planning ideas!

If you’re looking for something that’s easy to serve a crowd for your Super Bowl party and don’t want to fork out the money for Chipotle’s Burritos In A Box deal, check out my recipe for Chipotle’s Barbacoa Beef!

And, if you’re more of a Qdoba fan (I’m partial to Qdoba myself, LOL!), be sure to download the recipe for their Poblano Pesto.  They just stopped serving it in their restaurants and released the recipe.  We tried it the other night and it was great!

We are excited to welcome Trusted Lending Advisors (powered by Academy Mortgage) as our sponsor for the next few months!

My husband works with with Tim and Dave at Trusted Lending Advisors consistently and they are always the first lender he recommends when given the opportunity.  He and his clients have always been more than satisfied with their rates and level of service!  (Trust me, I can tell you as a Realtor’s wife that working with a difficult lender can be quite stressful for all parties involved, and an easy-to-work with lender can make the whole transaction so much smoother!)  I’m excited that they are partnering with us this month and hope that you’ll check them out if you’re considering a refinance or home purchase.

It seems like prices on just about everything are rising – everything except mortgage rates, that is!  Yeah, you’ve heard it over and over: rates are at historic lows but won’t – can’t – stay this low forever.  Refinancing your home or purchasing at a low rate may be the single biggest cost-cutting thing you can do right now, and you’re likely to see more a whole lot more savings doing that than cutting the cable or using grocery coupons.

If you want to refinance or purchase a home, now is the time to talk to someone and get a game plan in place.  There may be things you need to get done or pull together in order to get the best rates, so don’t wait to talk to a lender five minutes before you want to refinance – talk to them ahead of time so that you can be sure you have everything in place.  We’ve set a goal to refinance this year and have things we have to work on now so that we can make that happen (tax returns, ugh!).

As a special incentive, Tim and Dave at Trusted Lending Advisors are offering Springs Bargains readers a free appraisal on any closed loan transaction (home purchase or refinance)  – just make sure to mention that you heard about them on Springs Bargains!

You can check out their website and get contact information here. Thanks to Trusted Lending Advisors for sponsoring Springs Bargains!

Powered by Academy Mortgage | Regulated by the Colorado Division of Real Estate | LMB 3113 LMB 100017529 NMLS 257308 | Equal Housing Opportunity

This month in the Eat Well, Spend Less series, the focus was on goals and “resolutions” for 2012.  Here’s a roundup of everyone’s posts on this great topic!

I wrote about my goals of wasting less in the kitchen over on Denver Bargains.  I’m really trying to develop some good habits in this area and have identified a few ways that I can save money by wasting less, specifically in the kitchen.  There were some great comments from readers, too!

Tammy from Tammy’s Recipes shares her food goals for 2012 and a report of her goals for 2011 and how she did.  She says, “while I don’t think I can actually reduce this year’s food budget (can we say growing kids?!), I want to do more without spending more.”  Great inspiration from a family who only ate out 6-8 times last year (and that includes hotdogs at Costco a couple of times!)

Jessica from Life As Mom is focusing on teaching her boys how to independently cook.  She says, “Teaching my kids to cook will help us to eat well and spend less while they live in our home. I won’t be the sole cook and bottle washer or as tempted to run for take-out on a night when I’m just too tired. I can call in the reserves!”  And, of course, it also will help them tremendously when they are on their own!

Aimee from Simple Bites is about to have a baby, like me, and is focusing on smart snacks for mom and baby during these last few weeks.  It can be really hard to eat well when your actual stomach is so tiny that you can’t eat a full meal and end up snacking all day, and Aimee has some great suggestions for healthy snacks.

Katie from Kitchen Stewardship takes my puny goals of wasting less and blows them out of the water with her ideas for making chicken broth not once, but three times out of every batch of bones!

Katie from Good Life Eats is focusing on incorporating a larger variety of grains into her family’s diet and has a great looking recipe for Multi-Grain Pumpkin Cranberry Bread!

Shaina from Food For My Family shares some honest advice about getting organized in the kitchen.  I love her sentiments: “…Having a well-stocked kitchen can help you save money and eat well at the same time, and if I can’t even figure out what all this stuff I’ve been stocking is and can’t reach the half of it, I’m doomed to continually spend more money than I need to be and eating pretty poorly in the process”.

Amy from Kingdom First Mom has tips for saving money on healthier foods.  Good tips no matter where you are on the “healthy eating” spectrum!

Mandi from Life Your Way lets us in on the secret for changing your diet for good.  I love it – but you’ll have to click over to read the secret!

It’s Friday — time for What To Make With What’s On Sale!  Organic Swiss chard (red, green and rainbow) is $1.50/bunch at Sunflower Market.  This week’s feature might not be at the top of your grocery list, but I encourage you to give Swiss chard a try!

Chard has an impressive list of nutritional benefits: it’s high in vitamin K, vitamin C, zinc, and lots of other antioxidants.  Eating chard and other greens on a regular basis is thought to help improve bone health and protect against cancer.  And when it’s prepared right, it’s quite tasty!  Here are five ideas for using Swiss chard!

This 5-star Ricotta Omelet with Swiss Chard is simple to make and requires just a few ingredients.  Try cottage cheese or mozzarella in place of the ricotta for a more affordable substitute.

Ricotta Omelet with Swiss Chard: Image from Real Simple

Have you ever tried a green smoothie?  Green smoothies are usually made up of mostly fruit with a handful of leafy greens added.  They’re a great way to include more fruits and especially veggies in your (and your family’s) diet.  This website has several ideas for incorporating Swiss chard into green smoothies.

Swiss chard is most commonly served as a side dish.  Here are two yummy recipe ideas — one is roasted and the other is braised:

Roasted Swiss Chard with Feta

Rachael Ray’s Swiss Chard and Golden Raisins

White Bean-Chard Soup: Image from Food Network

Chard is also a great addition to soups and stews.  This 5-star recipe for White Bean-Chard Soup looks delicious and it’s ready in 40 minutes!  (Try substituting canned, diced tomatoes for the roasted red peppers — you can get Hunt’s tomatoes for as little as $0.19 this week in King Soopers’ Mega Event!)

Does your family enjoy Swiss chard?  Do you have any tips for preparing and serving this leafy green veggie?

For more great recipe ideas, visit the (new!) What To Make With What’s On Sale archives, organized by meat, produce, and pantry items!

I’ve been thinking more and more about non-couponing ways to save money.  I’ve written about my goals for wasting less overall, wasting less in the kitchen, and getting rid of stuff to save money.

I’m still a big believer in using coupons to slash your grocery bill, but that alone is just not cutting it for me anymore.  As our family and businesses have grown, I’ve had a shrinking amount of time to spend on things like coupon clipping, so I’ve had to learn to evaluate what’s worth spending time on to save money, and what I need to just pay full price (eek!) for in an effort to save time.

Here are eight things that I try to evaluate when I consider whether spending time to save money is worth it, and when it’s not.

→  Make sure you are actually saving money.

Oh goodness.  The number of times I’ve spent a considerable amount of time doing something to save money and then realized it wasn’t actually much, if any, cheaper – well, let’s just leave that undisclosed.  (Surely some of you are with me?)

So, if you’re spending time to DIY something to save money, take a few minutes to calculate how much money you’re saving versus buying it or having someone else do it for you.

→  Realize that you’re not always comparing apples to apples.

When you’re evaluating the cost to buy something versus the cost to do something yourself, it’s not always comparing items of equal value or worth.  Yes, you could go buy a picnic table kit at the hardware store for a whole lot cheaper than you can make it yourself – but if the one you make yourself will be more durable, longer-lasting, or more aesthetically please than the kit, it might be worth spending more.

From time to time, I make my own granola bars.  If I can find a great deal on granola bars at the store, I can’t necessarily compare the price-per-bar and definitively say that I’m absolutely spending less by making them myself – but I do know that the ones I make myself are healthier and more filling, so I don’t worry about the exact cost savings.

Then again, sometimes doing something yourself saves little and doesn’t actually turn out a better quality product!

→  Evaluate the “dread” factor.

Saving money is great, but when you absolutely dread the task that you’ve taken upon yourself to do to save money, you have to evaluate if it’s worth the stress of doing something you really hate.

If you absolutely hate hanging out your laundry to dry and only do it because you think you “should” to be frugal, you may be costing yourself more emotional energy than you’re saving on your utility bill.  If you have a bunch of things you grudingly do to save money, consider whether you might be more energetic and excited about life if you dropped a few of them.  That will probably save you some money, too!

On the other hand, if something really doesn’t save you that much money but you love doing it, don’t let anyone stop you!

→  Be efficient with your time.

Make sure that you are being efficient with your time when you’re using it to save money. This is obviously a great thing to do with everything in life!  Try to eliminate distractions so that the task takes as little amount of time as possible.  If you can’t be efficient with your time while trying to do something else, it may not be the best time investment.

→  Use resources efficiently.

Also, in an effort to be more efficient with your time, make sure you have the right tools for the job.  The first few times you try something, I don’t recommend going out and purchasing every single tool that might be nice for the task, but once you’ve proved to yourself that you’re going to make it a habit to do it yourself and it’s not going to be a one-time thing, sometimes a purchase of a tool might make it easier and faster to do the job, and still save you money even with a small investment.

If you’re transitioning from having someone clean your house for you to doing it yourself, think about buying a toilet bowl scrubber and cleaning supplies so that each bathroom can have its own cleaning kit in the cabinet.  Sure, you’ll spend a bit on that trip to Target when you buy the necessary cleaning tools, but overall it will make it easier to keep your bathrooms clean and you’ll be less tempted to pay someone else to do it.

→  Realize that your priorities may change.

You will go through phases in life where it makes sense to spend more time to save money, and times where it will be worth spending a little extra to save you some time.  Right now, I’m in a phase of life where I don’t have a ton of time to use all the coupons I’d like to use and shop at all the stores I’d like to shop at, and I’ve learned to be OK with that.

Yes, I feel a little guilty sometimes that I’m not getting the rock-bottom prices on all my groceries, but right now my time and energy is worth more than a few extra dollars.

→  Ask yourself, “What would I be doing if I wasn’t spending time doing this?”

Wahl Hair Clippers - have saved us hundreds of dollars over the years, with just a small time investment!

If you have to take off work early in order to find time to cut your own hair, you might not be saving much money by the time you count your lost income.  But, if you spend time doing something to save money that you would normally spend watching TV or playing Farmville, you’re making a much better choice.

→ It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Just because you decided to make homemade brand for sandwiches one month doesn’t mean you have to do it every week for the rest of your life.  If you need to buy bread one week, do it without guilt and try to devote the time to making your own bread the next week.

You can spend time to make money or save money.

One of the things that I tell people that are concerned about the amount of time that saving money with coupons takes is that if you need more money, it usually means an investment of time – either working to earn money, or working to save money.

The “best” way varies by person, and as I mentioned above, the “best” way varies by what phase of life you’re in, too.

Don’t think that just because someone else finds something like making their own laundry detergent a good use of time to save money means that it would be a good use of your time – consider the above factors when you are trying to figure out what makes sense for you to spend time doing in order to save money.

Sometimes, it’s worth spending a little more money so that your time is freed to make a little more money.  Sometimes, an investment of time will reap more financial benefits than you could ever get by working a little extra.

What things do you spend time doing to save money?

Is there anything that you used to spend time doing to save money that you realized really wasn’t worth it?

I’m excited about our topic for What To Make With What’s On Sale this week!  Albertsons has Planters Peanut Butter (the 28 oz jars — almost double the regular size) for $3.99, and they’re only $3.24 each when you buy two with the printable coupon!  There are also some good deals on peanut butter through Vitacost.

Peanut butter is a staple food in our home.  It’s nutritious and everyone in the family loves it, and there are lots of ways to eat it beyond just a PB & J sandwich.  Here are some ideas for how to use peanut butter!

Peanut butter is a great snack food.  Try Ants On A Log (the only way many kids will eat celery!) or Peanut Butter Dip (with or without the whipped topping) served with fruit, graham crackers or pretzels.

Peanut Butter Fruit Dip: Image from Allrecipes

How about peanut butter for breakfast?  This Peanut Butter Bread Pudding with Maple-Peanut Sauce looks amazing, and it’s fairly simple to prepare.  (It would be great as a dessert too!)

Peanut butter smoothies are good for breakfast or as a snack; try this Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie!  It has just three ingredients and can be easily adapted to your personal taste preferences.

Peanut Butter Noodles: Image from Allrecipes

Peanut butter is a nice flavor compliment to some Asian-style savory dishes as well.  Adding cooked chicken or turkey to these kid-friendly Peanut Butter Noodles would make a delicious main entree.

And, of course, peanut butter is great for desserts!  These Homemade Peanut Butter Cups from Brown Eyed Baker are to die for.  If you like the idea of peanut butter cups without the work of making each one individually, try these Peanut Butter Cup Bars (also from Brown Eyed Baker.)

Peanut butter cookies are another favorite dessert.  Here’s a 5-ingredient recipe for Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies.  If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, try these chocolatey, chunky Peanut Butter Cookies.

How do you typically like to use peanut butter?  Please share your ideas in the comments!

I’ve already told you that one of my goals for 2012 is to waste less in order to save money.  We’re already into the third week of January and I’m pleased to report that I’m doing pretty good! ;)  I’ve made some great progress in wasting less in the kitchen (more on that next week) and have been doing pretty good at not purchasing more stuff.

One of the other things I’ve been doing to waste less is to get rid of stuff.  Yes, you heard me right: I think that getting rid of stuff – stuff that you’ve paid hard-earned money for – is key to wasting less and saving money.

Don’t believe me?  Here are five reasons that I think getting rid of stuff will help you save more by wasting less:

→ You’ll be disgusted at how much money you’ve wasted.

Image from Flickr

Go through your closets, drawers, and cabinets and throw away everything that you aren’t using and will not use in the next nine months.  Be honest with yourself and admit that you really don’t even want to start/finish those craft projects you bought the supplies for a year ago.

While you’re doing it, keep a tally of how much you spent on all that stuff.  (Feel free to not count the cost of anything that you really did get good use out of for awhile but isn’t serving a purpose anymore.)

Trust me, you will be absolutely disgusted at the amount of money you spent on things that you never used, and you’ll be seriously motivated to not waste money like that again.

During my recent cleanouts I found a bunch of birthday and Thanksgiving-themed ribbon that I had purchased at 90% off at the Target dollar aisle.  Yeah, great deal, but it added up to a few dollars and I know that it’s been sitting in that drawer for at least three years.  I donated almost all of it to Goodwill, knowing that if I haven’t used it in three years, the odds of me using it in the next three years are slim.

I’m super mad at myself for spending even just a few dollars on it, and the memory of that Goodwill donation is likely to quickly come to mind next time I’m faced with a 90% off sale on ribbon.

→ You’ll discover unfinished projects.

Feel like doing something creative or sprucing up a room or two?  Do a major cleanout and you’re likely to find more than a couple of projects that you have most or all of the supplies for.  Finish those projects – you’ll not have to spend any money and your desire to make something will have been met!

→ You won’t need to buy organizing containers.

Image from Michael's

This tip comes from my friend and Facebook fan Paula, who pointed out that by doing a good, honest decluttering before you try to start organizing, you will likely need fewer organizing containers and storage solutions.  Why waste time organizing things that you’ll never use, and wasting money on storage solutions for those items?  Get rid of stuff and you’ll likely save yourself a trip to the storage container aisle at Target!

→ You’ll know what’s in your stockpile.

How many times have you bought something at the store, only to come home and find that it was already in your pantry – just hidden behind so much junk that you’d never seen it!  My friend Amy’s post reminded me of this today:

It seems I was rather ambitious on a shopping trip in the weeks before Christmas, because I found lots of unopened, unused baking supplies, in addition to duplicates that I never needed to purchase in the first place.  Arg!

By getting rid of stuff, you’ll not only have more room to organize what you have, you’ll also have a great chance to visually survey everything that’s in your pantry so that you can hopefully recall whether or not you have something.

→  Your head will clear so you can make better use of what you have.

There is something powerful in getting rid of stuff that you know you will never use.  Not to be overly dramatic, but having stuff in your home that you know you should use but in reality know you never will can really weigh a person down.

I can’t tell you how much more inspired to cook I felt when I finally got rid of the rice paper wrappers and rice noodles that I’d purchased three or four years ago in anticipation of a Japanese friend teaching me and a few other friends how to make spring rolls.  That event never happened and the supplies have set in my pantry since then, taunting me every time I opened the door.  (Yes, I’m being a little dramatic – but only a little!)

Image from Flickr

My friend Jen has encouraged people to minimize what doesn’t work in their wardrobe so that they can maximize what does.  Oh, she is so spot on!

I have way too many clothes, and with that excess, I miss out on quickly putting together great outfits because I spend too much time weeding through things that are just “maybe’s.”

We have so much junk in our homes that’s taking up space in our heads and preventing us from being creative with the stuff that’s not junk!  We put ourselves on a guilt trip for purchasing something that we didn’t use, and that guilt trip turns into an extended vacation when we keep the item in our home.

Those extended guilt trip vacations take up time  in our lives – time that we could spend being joyfully thrifty and making wise use of our resources.

If the item doesn’t work or you can’t muster up the courage to use it for its original purpose, free yourself by getting rid of it.  Don’t forget the memory of it – that memory will be powerful in keeping you from making similar mistakes again – but clear your head and start new!

Getting rid of stuff will save you money.

WIth my life getting busier (I’m eight months pregnant with baby #5!) and prices of just about everything rising, I’m focusing on ways to make better use of my money that require little time investment.  While on the front end, getting rid of stuff does take a little bit of time and does feel a bit like you are throwing money away, ultimately, it saves money and time and is well worth the effort.

Have you found freedom and savings in getting rid of stuff?  I’d love to hear where you’re at on this issue!

Christy writes:

My husband and I are looking for a cheap place to go over spring break. We want to take our kids (ages 9 and 5) but are on a very limited budget. Any suggestions?

Know of a cheap way to spend spring break in Colorado (or very near Colorado)?  Please share by leaving a comment on this post!

You might also like these ideas for a staycation in Colorado Springs and a staycation in Denver!

It’s Friday — time for What To Make With What’s On Sale!  We’re not quite into strawberry season yet, but fresh strawberries are on sale for $1.27/lb at Sunflower Market this week, or for $1.90/lb at King Soopers.  I’m excited to have a little taste of summer in the middle of winter!

Here are some tasty ideas for using fresh strawberries!

When I have lots of strawberries on hand, one of my favorite ways to use them is in strawberry sauce or jam.  Ina Garten’s Easy Strawberry Jam recipe is just that — easy!  It’s delicious too (and it works just fine if you leave out the apple and blueberries.)

Supreme Strawberry Topping: Image from Allrecipes

This 5-star Supreme Strawberry Topping is simple to make as well.  It’s great for topping waffles, pancakes, yogurt, ice cream and cheesecake!

Strawberries are a yummy compliment to green salads too!  The sweet strawberries in this easily adaptable Spring Salad balance the crunchy veggies.

I’m definitely going to try this recipe for Avocados with Strawberry Salsa and Crispy Tortilla Chips (although food presentation isn’t something I typically spend much time on, so I’ll likely just make the salsa, add diced avocado, and serve it with tortilla chips!)

Here are several tasty dessert recipes to try:

Individual Strawberry Shortcakes – always a crowd-pleaser!

Individual Strawberry Shortcakes: Image from The Chou Life

The Pioneer Woman’s Strawberry Shortcake Cake — this looks amazing!

Fresh Strawberry Pie – (If you’re making two pies as the recipe calls for, you might need to double the amount of gelatin.)

Do you have a favorite way to use fresh strawberries?

Diana emailed with a question about coupon doubling:

I was wondering about how a couponing trick would work. This morning, there was a coupon for Suave deoderant for $0.75 off 1. Often King Soopers sell these deoderants for $0.88. If the store doubles the coupon to a dollar, will I get the full $1 value or will it double to $0.88?

In most cases, it will only double up to the price of the item, so the coupon would scan at $0.50 and the “multiplied” coupon would be $0.38, making the item completely free (aside from sales tax) but not give you an “overage”.

The exception is that sometimes when an item is included in a Buy 10, Save $5 event or similar, you may actually get overage, since the item advertised as “$0.50 when you buy 10 Mega Event items and save $5″ rings up as, say, $1.00 and then an additional $0.50 (as part of the instant $5 savings) comes off at the end.

In that case, since the individual item rings up as $1.00 and the instant savings to get it to $0.50 as advertised comes at the end, when the $5 instant discount comes off, the $0.50 coupon would double to $1.00 and you would actually receive $0.50 in overage.

Here’s a step-by-step example:

Deodorant – $0.50 each when you buy 10 and save $5
Rings up as $1.00 shelf price
Use $0.50/1 coupon that will double to $1.00, making it free
Gain an additional $0.50 per item savings for buying 10 and getting the $5 instant discount
Net cost at checkout: “profit” of $0.50

That’s how it works at King Soopers and usually at Safeway, as well.  Note that in the case that your final total is negative, stores may or may not give you cash back.

Here’s more answers to questions about couponing!

It’s the first Friday of 2012 — time for What To Make With What’s On Sale!  This week we’re finally seeing oranges at a good price: $1.00 for a 3-lb bag ($0.34/lb) at Albertson’s!

Most people probably don’t buy whole oranges with the intent of using them in a recipe, but oranges are a great compliment to many dishes, both in cooking and baking.  Here are some delicious ways to use fresh oranges!

If you’re looking for an easy and nutritious snack or dessert, here’s a tasty idea: slice oranges in half and place them cut side up in a baking dish.  Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes.  You can eat the segments straight out of the peel, or spoon the flesh into a bowl and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Oranges also make a great base for smoothies.  If you need a smoothie recipe, try this Orange Banana Smoothie from Ina Garten.  Simple and yummy!

Fresh orange segments are a great compliment to salad greens.  Fresh orange juice and zest also make a tasty salad dressing: try this Spinach Salad with Orange Vinaigrette.  (Substitute bacon or thinly-sliced ham for the prosciutto to make a less pricey version.)

Spinach Salad with Orange Vinaigrette: Image from Food Network

Oranges can be used in main dishes too; these Orange Chicken Skewers look amazing!  I like that the flesh of the oranges are used in the recipe, not just the juice and zest.

I also love to bake with oranges — this recipe from the Pioneer Woman, Orange Mini-Muffins with Brown Sugar Glaze, is one of my favorites.  These can be made in a standard muffin tin as well.

Orange Breakfast Rolls: Image from Allrecipes

Here’s a yummy-looking twist on the cinnamon roll: these Orange Breakfast Rolls look scrumptious.  The recipe calls for frozen (and thawed) bread dough rolls, but these could also be made with a pound of homemade or store-bought bread dough, rolled out flat, spread with the filling, rolled up jelly-roll style and sliced.

What’s your favorite way to serve and eat fresh oranges?

Want more recipe ideas?  Visit the What To Make With What’s On Sale archives!

A penny saved is a penny earned.  You’ll never hear that saying come out of my mouth.  I personally don’t like working for pennies!  But, I might say something like this: A penny saved is a nickel I don’t have to spend later.

In 2012, I’m focusing on saving money by wasting less.  To be honest, I’ve never been that great about making wise use of what I have.  If I get a great deal on something, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to spend more time and money fixing it when I can just buy another one on sale.

But, prices are rising on just about everything and sales are becoming more scarce.  What I used to be able to easily replace for a dollar may now cost me two dollars, and I’m starting to think about making better use of what I have.

My goal of wasting less is not so much a way to save the money I’ve already spent, but a way to save the money I haven’t yet spent.

Here’s how I’m planning to do this – 5 Simple Ways to Save More By Wasting Less:

Finish unfinished projects instead of starting new ones.

I have little projects here, there, and everywhere that were started with the best intentions and never finished.  I laid out the money for supplies and lost heart or got distracted.  If I don’t get my act together, that money I spend on supplies will be wasted – and I’ll likely continue buying supplies for projects that will remain unfinished.

I’ve got to stop continuing to not use items that I’ve already spent money on and spending more on projects that won’t ever get finished either.

This year, I will be finishing the framed pictures that I started for my boy’s room instead of dreaming up art for my girls’ room.  I will finish printing and framing photos for my husband’s side of our family tree before I re-do some perfectly good framed art in our dining room.  I will touchup the paint smudges leftover from last year’s painting projects before I start brainstorming on new curtains for the master suite.

I will save more and waste less when I finish unfinished projects instead of starting new ones.

Take care of what you have.

In America, we can buy many things so cheaply that I’ve always struggled with spending time and money take care of something that can be replaced for a few dollars.  But, prices on everything are rising and I’m starting to think more about saving by taking care of what I already have.

Practical ways to implement this?  One way is using or freezing food before it goes bad.   I used half a can of pumpkin for a recipe and put the rest in the refrigerator, then realized that I would probably let it go moldy before I used it, so I put it in the freezer.  (The challenge will be to make sure I use it before it’s unrecognizable from freezer burn!)

I’m the first to admit that I’m not a fastidious laundry-doer.  Some people get a thrill out of successfully getting a difficult stain out – my theory is that if you wash the garment enough times, the stain will come out/fade away anyway.

But, I’m trying to take better care of our clothing by at least checking for stains before putting them in the laundry and spraying with stain remover when necessary.  My littlest ones tend to get the edges of sleeves and collars quite dirty, so I’m spraying them before putting in the washing machine.  I’ve become fastidious about turning jeans inside out, as it does seem to keep them from fading as quickly; and socks are getting unwadded before being thrown in the washing machine so that they actually get clean.

I will save more and waste less by taking care of what I’ve already been blessed with.

Under-buy rather than over-buy.

When I open my pantry and linen closet, I see food and personal care items that have been in my possession for a very long time, purchased as a great deal but taking space in my home for years.  I’m learning to be more judicious in what I buy – even if it’s a great deal.

I’m a huge believer in stockpiling good deals to save money – it’s one of the principles I teach in Grocery University – but I’m not confident that buying things and storing them for years is an effective use of money.

Pantene shampoo at 50¢ a bottle?  Great price, but when we use only a couple of bottles a year it doesn’t make sense to spend $5 on ten bottles of shampoo.  I suppose the money didn’t go to “waste” since I have something to show for it and it’s something we would eventually use, but it might have been better to spend $1 on a couple of bottles and save the $4 for something else.

I’m also making it a point to not spend money on things for theoretical events.  Yes, that game of Connect Four for $5 was a great buy and would have come in handy if we’d been invited to a birthday party for someone that it would have been an appropriate gift for, but now it’s sat in my basement for a year and a half and I really would have rather spend the $5 on something else. 

If it doesn’t have a name or specific event attached to it, I’m not buying it anymore.  I’d rather pay full-price for one birthday gift rather than buy three at half-price that never get used.

I will save more and waste less by being cautious about overbuying, even on great deals.

Ask if something can be used before throwing it away.

This goal is going to be prevalent in my kitchen: before I throw scraps away, I will ask if there is another dish I can use the item for, or another way to repurpose the leftovers of a meal that no one really liked.

That quarter-cup of celery that I put in the freezer is worth only a few pennies – but by saving it, I may be able to prevent spending $1 on celery in the future when I want some depth of flavor for a soup or stock.

Last year, I learned that broccoli stalks can be made delicious by shredding them for a salad like this Chinese Broccoli Slaw, instead of purchasing expensive broccoli coleslaw in a bag.  In theory, I would only be throwing away a few cents worth of broccoli, but by making it go farther, I can get another entire side dish out of something I previously threw away, which prevents me from having to purchase another vegetable.

 I willl save more and waste less by finding ways to use perfectly-good items that I am used to throwing away.

Only spend money on what is positively useful.

I keep money in my storage closets and basement – do you?  Well, not literally, but that’s what it feels like when I look around and see a $3 lamp that I bought at Goodwill, stacks of nice scrapbook paper that were purchased for a project that never materialized, or a couple of $10 organizational tools that I was just sure were going to be the solution to our toy mess.

One problem with thrifty shopping is that you often have to be prepared to buy when the deal is hot.  Unfortunately, for me this means that I buy things without a solid plan.  I know we want a lamp and I can’t resist one for just a few bucks, so I buy it and then later realize I don’t really love it, that my ideas of spray painting it won’t look that great, or that it’s going to cost a significant amount more to buy a shade and rewire the lamp.

You can shop frugally and not make these mistakes, though.  I’m working on teaching myself to only purchase what is absolutely, positively useful.  I’m looking past the great price tag to think about where I will put it, how much I need it, if it’s what I really want, how much it will cost to get it where I want it to be, and whether or not I really love it.

If I can conquer that, I’ll stop wasting money on items that get donated back to Goodwill and will then have money to spend on something that is what I really want.

I will save more and waste less by evaluating if something is truly useful and beautiful before buying it.

Save more by wasting less.

I rarely regret not spending money, but I often regret spending a few bucks on this and a few bucks on that.  And now more than ever, those few dollars spent here and there are starting to add up.

In 2012, I will be focusing on saving money by wasting less.  I don’t necessarily expect to see hundreds of extra dollars in my bank account, but I do think that I will learn some things about wise spending and thoughtful using.

How do you save more by wasting less?

More 5 Simple Ways Posts

Nine other bloggers are also sharing five simple ways today – please visit them for some great ideas and inspiration!

• Heavenly Homemakers- 5 Simple Ways To Accomplish More Each Day
• A Familiar Path- 5 Simple Ways To Make The Most Of Your Pictures
• Smockity Frocks- 5 Simple Ways To Occupy Preschoolers
• My Blessed Life- 5 Simple Ways To Update Your Home Decor
• The Happy Housewife- 5 Simple Ways To Save Money In 2012
• Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures- 5 Simple Ways To Save Money In The Kitchen
• I’m In Organizing Junkie- 5 Simple Ways To Organize Without Spending Big Bucks
• Balancing Beauty and Bedlam- 5 Simple Ways To Freshen Up Your Wardrobe for 2012
• Southern Savers – 5 Simple Ways To Not Get Overwhelmed in Couponing

Last year, a fabulous group of bloggers and myself joined together to write a series of posts about 5 Simple Ways to do everything from save time in the kitchen to make money on your blog!  We’ll be posting another, totally new series of 5 Simple Ways posts tomorrow, but today, you can grab a free ebook with last year’s tips from Heavenly Homemakers, A Familiar Path, Smockity Frocks, My Blessed Life, The Happy Housewife, Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures, I’m An Organizing Junkie, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Southern Savers, and myself!

Here’s a list of what you’ll find in the free ebook:

5 Simple Ways to Live a Natural Lifestyle
5 Simple Ways to Decorate on a Dime
5 Simple Ways to Take Better Photos
5 Simple Ways to Make Money From Your Blog
5 Simple Ways to Have a Successful Homeschool Day
5 Simple Ways to Save Money in 2011
5 Simple Ways to Dress Fabulously for Less
5 Simple Ways to Organize Your Home
5 Simple Ways to Start Using Coupons
5 Simple Ways to Save You Time In The Kitchen

Go here to download the ebook of these great posts – and, it’s beautiful book too, you’ll love reading it!  If you prefer to print it out and read it rather than read it on your computer, you can download a printer-friendly version here.

The ladies in the Eat Well, Spend Less group have posted a bunch of great holiday recipes and tips this week – here’s a roundup!

• Easy Appetizers from Life As Mom
• 10 Easy Homemade Food Gifts from Kingdom First Mom
• Make-ahead Breakfasts For Christmas Morning from Food Your Way
• Homemade Substitutes for Holiday Favorites from Simple Bites
• Quick and Easy Party Foods from Kitchen Stewardship
• Shopping Tips for The Holidays from Food For My Family
• Coping With Lackluster Grocery Sales from Denver Bargains

I’m off to do some Christmas baking!

Christmas is just around the corner, and rib roasts are a great price this week: $4.97/lb at both Albertson’s and Sunflower Market!

Do you traditionally have rib roast for your Christmas meal? Here are some great recipes and ideas for preparing rib roast, as well as tips to make sure your roast turns out moist and tasty!

Tips for selecting and preparing a perfect rib roast:

• To be sure you have plenty of roast to go around, figure on two people per rib.  (A full standing rib roast has 7 ribs and is usually between 15 and 18 pounds.)
• Before cooking the roast, take it out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.
• Toward the end of the estimated cooking time, begin checking the internal temperature of the roast with a meat thermometer.  This is the best gauge of when the roast is done.  Cook until internal temperature reaches 130 – 145 degrees F (depending on your desired doneness.)
• Cooking a rib roast at high altitude might require extra cooking time, so a meat thermometer is especially helpful in determining when the roast is done.
• Upon removing the roast from the oven, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before carving.  This allows the juices to absorb back into the meat, resulting in a moist and tender roast.

Rib roast recipes:

This Foolproof Rib Roast recipe is simple–only 4 ingredients–and quite popular.  The most important part of the recipe is this: do NOT open the oven door while the roast is cooking!

Foolproof Rib Roast: Image from Allrecipes

If you’d like something a little different, this Horseradish-and-Herb-Crusted Beef Rib Roast looks delicious!  (Be sure to pay attention to the roast sizes in the recipes, as they vary from 5 pounds to 16 pounds.)

If you have the time and space in your fridge, you can dry age the roast for several days prior to cooking to bring out extra flavor and produce a smoother texture.  Alton Brown’s 5-star recipe for Dry-Aged Standing Rib Roast looks amazing.  (If you use this recipe, browse the comments first as there are lots of helpful tips to be found!)

Do you have any useful tips or a great rib roast recipe?  Please share in the comments!

It’s Friday – time for What To Make With What’s On Sale!  This week at Albertson’s, Pillsbury Brownie Classics mix is $1.00, and just $0.50 after coupon.

I like to keep a few brownie mixes in my pantry at all times — they make a great last-minute dessert!  Brownie mixes are easily doctored to make them a bit more exciting, too.  Here are 10 yummy and creative ways to use a brownie mix! 

1. Fudgy Frosted Brownies: Prepare the mix as directed; immediately after removing the brownies from the oven, spread one or two cups of semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate chips over the top for a fudgy frosting.

2. Banana-Nut Brownies: For added flavor and nutrition, stir a mashed banana and half a cup of chopped walnuts or pecans into the brownie batter before baking.

Image from Flickr

3. German Chocolate Brownies: Top a pan of (baked) brownies with caramel sauce, then sprinkle with sweetened coconut flakes and chopped pecans.

4. Mocha Brownies: Stir one or two tablespoons of instant coffee granules (Starbucks VIA is great for this!) into the batter before baking.  Or, try substituting brewed, cooled coffee for the water in the recipe.

5. Cherry Almond Mini-Brownies: Add one teaspoon of almond extract to the brownie batter.  Portion the batter into mini muffin cups, then gently press a dried cherry into the center of each cup.  Bake 10-12 minutes.

6. Peppermint Brownies: Chop up three or four large peppermint patties and stir them into the batter.  Bake as directed.

7. S’more Brownies: Bake brownies in a 9 x 13″ pan as directed.  Remove from the oven; sprinkle with 2/3 cup of chocolate chips and 1.5 cups of miniature marshmallows while still hot. Put the brownies back in the oven for a minute until the marshmallows and chocolate have started to soften. Take 6 full sheets of graham crackers and break them into quarters. While the brownies are still hot, gently press a layer a graham crackers on top of the marshmallows.  Follow the lines of the graham crackers to cut into squares.  (These are best eaten the same day, before the crackers become soft!)

8. Cheesecake Brownies: Prepare mix as directed; spread batter evenly into prepared pan.  With an electric mixer, beat together 8 oz. softened cream cheese, 1 egg, and 1/4 c. sugar.  Drop the cream cheese mixture by spoonfuls over the batter.  Swirl together with a knife; bake as directed.

9. Peanut Butter Frosted Brownies: Bake brownies as directed.  Cool in the pan.  In a saucepan over low heat, melt one cup of peanut butter chips with 1/2 c. butter.  Stir until smooth.  Remove from heat and stir in a can of sweetened condensed milk.  Spread over the cooled brownies; chill until set.

10. Brownie Trifle: Put together a super easy trifle with four ingredients: brownies, chocolate pudding, frozen whipped topping, and chocolate toffee bars.  This dessert is often known as Death By Chocolate.  It’s always a big hit at potlucks!

Do you have a brownie mix idea to add to this list?  Please share in the comments!

For this week’s What To Make With What’s On Sale post, we’re considering a condiment!  Barbecue sauce is cheap (or free) at Safeway this week: KC Masterpiece Sauce or Marinade is $0.99 with in-ad or e-coupon, and combined with a coupon, it’s free!

Barbecue sauce is great to have for basting grilled meat or for topping burgers, and it can be put to good use in other creative ways as well.  Here are seven ideas for how to use barbecue sauce!

Make barbecue meatballs.  Using your favorite meatball recipe (mine consists of half sausage, half ground beef), prepare meatballs and cover with a cup or two of barbecue sauce.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour, or place in a slow cooker set to low for 4 hours.  Serve the meatballs as an appetizer, as an entree over rice, or in a hoagie roll for a tasty sandwich!

Use barbecue sauce in place of tomato sauce on pizza.  Here’s a recipe for BBQ Chicken Pizza — it’s yummy and so easy to make!

Throw together some barbecue meat for sandwiches.  You can use nearly any type of leftover meat, shredded or chopped, and heat it with barbecue sauce for a tasty sandwich filling.  Or, try slow cooking a beef roast, pork roast, or chicken breasts with a bottle of barbecue sauce and a cup of broth.  Simple and delicious!

Oven Barbecued Beef Brisket: Image from Allrecipes

Make baked beans.  The Pioneer Woman has an amazing recipe for The Best Baked Beans Ever that calls for bottled barbecue sauce.  If you want to make it a little simpler, skip the bacon, onions and bell pepper and just heat the remaining ingredients on the stovetop.  (But I definitely recommend following the recipe if you have time!)

Cook a juicy beef brisket.  Here’s a great recipe for Oven Barbecued Beef Brisket that uses a cup of barbecue sauce.  I’ve made this recipe several times and my brisket has always turned out flavorful and moist!

Bake barbecue chicken.  BBQ chicken doesn’t have to be done on the grill — this recipe for Baked Barbeque Chicken looks yummy and couldn’t be easier!

Tangy Sirloin Strips: Image from Allrecipes

And here’s one more recipe — Tangy Sirloin Strips — that uses barbecue sauce and sirloin steak, which is at a rock-bottom price at Albertson’s this week.  I can’t wait to try this (as soon as we have a day that’s warm enough to go out and fire up the grill!)

What’s your favorite way to use barbecue sauce?

Laura is doing a photobook for the first time and wants your recommendations for the best site to use:

I have never created a photobook and am interested in doing one for a Christmas gift. I am interested in readers’ recommendations since I’m a beginner with about 25 pictures.

What size of book is appropriate for that number of pictures? Are there varying degrees of a company’s quality, price and ease of design? I really would appreciate other’s input.

If you’ve ordered a photobook before, please comment with what companies you’ve used and what you liked or didn’t like about them!

Giving a gift card as a Christmas gift and want to do something other than stick it in an envelope and say “here ya go”?  Here are eight cool gift wrapping ideas for all sorts of gift cards on our sister site, Denver Bargains!

Just an update if you’re just logging on this morning: my audio series, Grocery University, is on sale for $8 until 9 AM!  This is a savings of 68% and we only do this sale a couple of times a year, so don’t miss out!  At 9 AM, the price goes up to $9 where it will remain until Tuesday morning.

Just a reminder that my audio series, Grocery University, is on sale today! This only happens a couple of times a year, so you don’t want to miss it. Until 7 AM MST, it’s $6 – down from $24.95! Go here to read more and order.

Source: Dear Lillie via Margaret on Pinterest

This month’s Eat Well, Spend Less theme was Thanksgiving, and the EWSL ladies have a ton of great ideas and inspiration for you!

• Frugal Holiday Dessert Ideas and Tips from Shaina at Food for My Family.  No need to feel guilty about sugary desserts and the money you spend to make them – Shaina has tips for creating desserts that will only leave you guilty about the sugar, not the cost. :)
• Recipes For Leftover Turkey from Katie at Good Life Eats.  Does anyone really like leftover turkey?  Katie has some ideas beyond just heating it up in the microwave with leftover gravy.  Turkey Subs with Artichoke and Sun Dried Tomato?  Ah, much better.
• Do Your Holidays Focus On Family, Food, or Fighting? from Katie at Kitchen Stewardship.  A gentle reminder that if you eat super healthy 80% of the time, it’s OK to avoid fighting and family fueds over food choices the other 20%.
• One Turkey, Four Meals from Aimee at Simple Bites.  I love the idea of breaking down the turkey before cooking it.  A turkey is so huge and different parts of the turkey really have vastly different optimal cooking times, so why not cook the pieces separately so that the white meat isn’t dried out by the time the dark meat is cooked through?
• Tips for a Budget-Friendly Thanksgiving Dinner from Jessica at Life As Mom.  Jessica dared to suggest that maybe turkey isn’t essential to Thanksgiving if other cuts of meat are more budget-friendly instead, and has some simple reminders about not going overboard on Thanksgiving.
• 10 Recipes for Turkey Leftovers from Amy at Kingdom First Mom.  There’s some Mexican and Italian-style recipes in the list, yum!
• Tips For A Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Dinner from Tammy at Tammy’s Recipes.  It makes so much sense to make as much as you can ahead of time so you’re not stressing at the last minute.

And if you missed them earlier, check out my own posts on Denver Bargains on Setting An Elegant Thanksgiving Table On A Budget and last month’s post about stocking up at holiday grocery sales!

It’s the Friday before Thanksgiving, and that means great sales on lots of holiday foods (and it also means busy grocery stores!).  Canned pumpkin puree is one of those popular holiday staples.  You can see prices on canned pumpkin and other Thanksgiving foods on this comparison list!

The possibilities of cooking with canned pumpkin are endless.  We’ve all had the traditional pumpkin pie (and we likely either love it or hate it) but here are eight more tasty ideas for using canned pumpkin puree!

Pumpkin Desserts

Try this twist on a pumpkin pie: The Pioneer Woman’s Pumpkin Cream Pie.  She uses a graham cracker crust, vanilla pudding, and half-and-half to create this yummy dessert.

These Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing are moist and cake-like, and the browned butter icing is a nice alternative to the typical cream cheese frosting.

Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake looks delicious!  She uses a boxed yellow cake mix for the base, so the recipe is fairly quick and easy to make — a plus if it’s just one item on your list of Thanksgiving dishes to prepare!

Pumpkin Breads

This basic recipe, Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread, is flavorful and moist.  It calls for three 7×3-inch loaf pans, but you can use two 9×5-inch pans instead, or make about two dozen muffins.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins: Image from The Chou Life

These Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are a lighter version of what you’ll find at Starbucks!  (If you have limited time, try this Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Bread instead.  It’s similar to the muffins but can be whipped up more quickly!)

Pumpkin Savory Dishes:

Here’s a fantastic recipe for Spicy Pumpkin Soup.  If you’ve never had pumpkin soup, this is a great recipe to try.  The spices can be easily adjusted according to your taste buds!

Spicy Pumpkin Soup: Image from Simply Recipes

For a tasty main dish, try this Pumpkin-Sage Cream Sauce over any type of pasta.  The sauce is very rich; if you’d like to make it a little lighter, try using half-and-half in place of the cream.  Either way, it’s delicious!

What are your favorite ways to use canned pumpkin puree?  Do you like to stock up on pumpkin during the holiday sales?